Refrigerator with an ice maker

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator includes an interior and an ice maker that is arranged in the interior and has a removable ice tray. A central module of the ice maker is firmly mounted on an inner wall of the refrigerator and the ice tray is detachably connected to the central module. A fresh water tank is detachably coupled to the central module such that fresh water can be transferred from the fresh water tank to the central module.

The invention relates to a refrigeration appliance as claimed in the preamble of claim 1.

It is known to arrange ice makers in the refrigeration zone of refrigeration appliances. In arrangements of this kind, on the one hand ice makers are used which are filled with water and cooled from outside, the water freezing from the outside inward and in the process ultimately producing an ice cube. In addition there are what are termed crystal ice makers, in which a plurality of refrigerating fingers are immersed in a water-filled container. By means of a refrigerant circulating inside the refrigerating fingers, the latter are cooled down to such an extent that a layer of ice grows on the refrigerating fingers immersed in the water. As soon as the layer of ice on the refrigerating fingers has attained a usable size, it is detached from the refrigerating fingers. A crystal ice maker of said kind is described in DE 103 36 834 A1. Ice makers of this type are generally installed in the refrigeration compartment of a fridge-freezer.

Ice makers of said type are available in a multiplicity of embodiment variants. These include fully automatic embodiments which are connected to a fresh water line and which automatically pump the water remaining in the container on completion of ice-making into the waste water line. The advantage of said ice makers lies in their simplicity of use, in that crystal ice is produced at the touch of a button, as it were. A prerequisite of this type of embodiment, however, is that a main water supply and waste water line are present at the site at which the refrigeration appliance is to be installed.

An ice tray is generally provided in which the crystal ice is collected. The ice tray can be emptied e.g. into a glass placed thereunder.

The ice maker is fixed in terms of its size and is a permanent component of the refrigeration appliance. Consequently, a common feature of all refrigerating devices which include an ice maker is that the ice maker takes up a not inconsiderable amount of the useful volume. In particular in the case of refrigeration appliances having a small useful volume, the usable amount of interior space is greatly reduced by an ice maker. Even when the ice maker is not in operation, there is no possibility of increasing the useful volume.

The object underlying the invention is therefore to equip a refrigeration appliance with an ice maker in such a way that when the ice maker is not in use the useful volume of the refrigeration appliance can be increased in size for the purpose of storing refrigerated items. It is additionally desired to embody the refrigeration appliance in such a way that no water connection has to be provided.

The object is achieved according to the invention by means of a refrigeration appliance having the features of claim 1. Toward that end, a central module of the ice maker is permanently mounted on an internal wall of the refrigeration appliance, with the ice tray being removably connected to the central module. A fresh water reservoir is also removably coupled to the central module in such a way that fresh water from the fresh water reservoir can be transferred into the central module. The fact that the ice tray is coupled to the central module results in a smooth, easy-to-clean refrigeration appliance front without openings for removing crystal ice that has been produced. This is particularly advantageous in the case of built-in refrigerators whose front face is covered by a decor panel. Because the ice tray is located at the central module in the refrigeration appliance, the ice tray can be removed through the door opening without special apertures having to be created in the front face of the door.

If the ice tray is located in the freezer compartment, the crystal ice produced can be kept for a practically unlimited length of time, since in this case temperatures below 0° C. prevail. If, on the other hand, the ice tray is located in the refrigeration zone, the storage life of the ice is limited. That notwithstanding, the melting process takes place only at a slow rate, since in this case the temperature is only a few degrees above zero. Here, too, the ice can be removed at a later time.

According to the invention the ice tray can be removed from the refrigeration appliance. This enables the ice tray to be easily cleaned at the sink or in the dishwasher. This is necessary in order to remove from the ice tray any melt water present or any deposits or contaminants that may be present.

Similarly, the fresh water reservoir is directly coupled in a detachable manner to the central module and can be removed from the refrigeration appliance. This enables the fresh water reservoir to be easily filled under the faucet. In addition, the fresh water reservoir can also be easily freed from dirt or deposits outside of the refrigeration appliance. Because the fresh water reservoir is coupled to the central module in the operationally ready state in such a way that the water can be transferred directly into the central module, there is no need for additional hoses, cables or couplings in the interior space of the refrigeration appliance which would otherwise be required for establishing the connection between the fresh water reservoir and the central module. Connections of said kind could be damaged as a result of refrigerated items being put away or moved.

The ice tray and the fresh water reservoir are arranged in such a way that by removing ice tray and/or fresh water reservoir the usable interior space of the refrigeration appliance is increased in size. As a result a larger useful volume is available when the ice maker is not being used.

The central module, ice tray and fresh water reservoir are advantageously arranged in a block shape. In an arrangement of said kind, the ice tray is placed under the central module in such a way that it terminates flush with a sidewall of the central module. In a particularly advantageous manner, the removable fresh water reservoir adjoins said sidewall. The removal of the fresh water reservoir frees up useful volume which directly adjoins the previously available interior space and together with the latter forms a generally usable larger, contiguous space. If the ice tray is also removed, said contiguous space can be enlarged even further for storing refrigerated items.

The fresh water reservoir and the ice tray are advantageously connected to the central module by way of guide rails. In order to place the ice maker into an operationally ready state once more after the fresh water reservoir and/or the ice tray have/has been removed, the fresh water reservoir and the ice tray must be brought into a defined position relative to the central module. This is accomplished in a simple manner by means of guide rails. Thus, after being removed, the ice tray and the fresh water reservoir must simply be brought into engagement with the guide rails and moved into their defined end position by a continuous pushing action.

The guide rails are advantageously part of the central module and manufactured with the latter as a single piece.

Furthermore, when guide rails are used, the useful volume obtained in addition as a result of the removal of the fresh water reservoir and/or the ice tray is not broken up by component parts of the ice maker, such as frames or retaining elements. Accordingly, the enlarged useful volume is available without restriction for storing refrigerated items.

The central module is mounted on the internal wall by way of an adapter plate. Using an adapter plate as a connecting element between internal wall and central module standardizes the fixing arrangement. It is particularly advantageous that the same central module can be installed in different refrigeration appliance types. The component commonality harbors an enormous savings potential, since now the central module or the inner shell of the refrigeration appliance does not have to be converted, but instead only the adapter plate has to be adapted to the corresponding refrigeration appliance type.

At least one sensor is provided for the purpose of detecting the presence of the ice tray and/or the fresh water reservoir. In order to minimize the energy consumption of refrigeration appliances it makes sense to operate supplementary devices such as ice makers only when they are able to deliver the performance expected by the user. If a central module is operated without a fresh water reservoir being present, no crystal ice can be produced. The result of this is an unnecessary consumption of energy and the costs associated therewith. Out of consideration for the environment it is therefore beneficial to detect the presence of the fresh water reservoir filled with fresh water. Sensors can be, for example, weight sensors, optical sensors or microswitches.

It is particularly advantageous if a further sensor is provided for detecting the ice tray. This can prevent the possibility that the crystal ice produced will be stored in an undefined manner in the interior space of the refrigeration appliance in the event that an ice tray is missing. Regardless of whether the ice maker is located in the freezer compartment or in the refrigeration zone, considerable inconvenience would be attached thereto in either case. If the crystal ice were to be stored in the freezer compartment, it will freeze on the internal wall of the freezer compartment after a certain period of time. The freezer compartment must then be cleared out and defrosted. If the ice maker is located in the refrigeration zone of the refrigeration appliance, the crystal ice produced by the central module and stored there without an ice tray would melt and by forming puddles would possibly damage refrigerated items. In this case, too, the refrigerated items would have to be removed from the refrigeration zone of the refrigeration appliance, possibly damaged refrigerated items identified as such and disposed of, and the refrigeration zone dried. By means of the sensor the ice maker can be prevented from operating without the ice tray being installed.

Both in the case of the ice tray and in the case of the fresh water reservoir it is possibly not sufficient merely to detect their presence. If, for example, the ice tray is present but not located in the right position, there is the possibility that only part of the crystal ice produced will be deposited in the ice tray. The part failing to be deposited therein will cause the above-described disadvantages.

If the fresh water reservoir is not in the right position, leakages can occur when fresh water is transferred into the central module. That must also be avoided at all costs. In a particularly advantageous embodiment a switching contact is therefore interrogated to determine whether the ice tray and/or the fresh water reservoir are/is located in the designated position.

Advantageously the ice maker will only be put into operation when the ice tray and/or the fresh water reservoir are/is located in the designated position.

Further details and advantages of the invention will emerge from the dependent claims in conjunction with the description of an exemplary embodiment which is explained in detail with reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a refrigeration appliance with refrigerator compartment and ice maker, and

FIG. 2 is an exploded drawing of the components of the ice maker.

FIG. 1 shows a refrigeration appliance 1 with open door 2 and an interior space 3. The interior space 3 is subdivided into a refrigeration zone 4 and a freezer compartment 5. For clarity of illustration reasons no cover flap is shown on the freezer compartment 5. The refrigeration zone 4 is usually subdivided by means of at least one height-adjustable shelf 6. An ice maker 7 is located in the refrigeration zone 4.

The ice maker 7 is divided into a central module, which in this case is embodied as a technical module 8 with switching contact 11 (see also FIG. 2), an ice tray 9 and a fresh water reservoir 10. A fixing plate (not visible here) of the technical module 8 is fixedly connected to an adapter plate. Said adapter plate is mounted on the left-hand or right-hand sidewall of the refrigeration zone 4. A fixing eyelet 12 is part of the rear wall of the technical module 8 and projects into the interior space 3 of the refrigeration appliance 1 at the side which lies opposite the fixing plate of the technical module 8. The technical module 8 is fixedly connected to the rear wall of the refrigeration appliance 1 by means of said fixing eyelet 12.

In a process that does not require to be explained in greater detail here, crystal ice is produced in the technical module 8 of the ice maker 7 by means of a plurality of refrigerating fingers and stored in the ice tray 9. The ice tray 9 is located underneath the technical module 8. On the side on which its fixing plate is located, the technical module 8, embodied in the form of a narrow cuboid 13 which forms a unit with the front of the technical module 8, is longitudinally extended such that when the ice tray 9 is inserted the underside of the cuboid 13 terminates flush with said ice tray 9. On the underside of the technical module 8, in the region into which the ice tray 9 can be inserted, there are disposed a left-hand 14 and a right-hand L-shaped guide rail 15. In this arrangement one limb of the guide rail 14, 15 is fixedly connected to the underside of the technical module 8, while the other limb runs parallel to the underside of the technical module 8. When the ice tray 9 is inserted into the ice maker 7, one of its sidewalls runs flush with the sidewall of the technical module 8 which lies opposite the fixing plate of the technical module 8.

The ice tray 9 has the shape of a tray that is open toward the top. The ice tray 9 is guided by means of the left-hand 14 and right-hand guide rail 15 of the technical module 8 in a groove 16 in each case. This is part of the left or, as the case may be, right sidewall of the ice tray 9 and is located at the edge of the tray 17.

Located at the rear of the technical module 8 is the switching contact 11. Said switching contact 11 is actuated only when the ice tray 9 is correctly inserted. Only when the switching contact 11 has been actuated, can the technical module 8 start producing crystal ice.

In a further embodiment variant, the switching contact 11 is replaced by a photoelectric relay or a proximity sensor. In this case too, crystal ice production cannot start until the sensor has been actuated.

The water required for producing the crystal ice is made available in the fresh water reservoir 10. The fresh water reservoir 10 is located next to the technical module 8 on the side located opposite the fixing plate of the technical module 8. As soon as the fresh water reservoir 10 has reached its end position next to the technical module 8, the connection between the fresh water reservoir 10 and the fresh water system of the technical module 8 is established by way of a coupling (not visible here). For that purpose the technical module 8 has an upper 18 and a lower L-shaped guide rail 19 on the sidewall opposite the fixing plate. One limb of the guide rail 18, 19 is fixedly connected to the sidewall of the technical module 8, while the other limbs, which run parallel to the sidewall of the technical module 8, point in the opposite direction. To achieve the watertight coupling of the fresh water reservoir 10 to the technical module 8, a pipe socket offset by 90° can be provided, for example, which projects from the sidewall in the rear section of the technical module 8. Provided as a matching part in the rear wall of the fresh water reservoir 10 is an opening which is enclosed by an O-ring. When the fresh water reservoir 10 is inserted, the pipe socket is pressed into the opening and is sealed by means of the O-ring.

The grooves (not shown here) required for guiding the fresh water reservoir 10 which engage in the upper 18 and lower guide rail 19 are part of the fresh water reservoir 10. When the fresh water reservoir 10 is inserted, it abuts against the technical module in the upper part and the ice tray 9 in the lower part. The fresh water reservoir 10 has a lid 20 which can be removed for filling purposes. In the refrigeration zone it prevents soiling or contamination of the fresh water.

Both the ice tray 9 and the fresh water reservoir 10 are removed and introduced from the front.

With the ice tray 9 and the fresh water reservoir 10 inserted, the ice maker 7 constitutes a compact assembly. When the ice maker 7 is not being used, the fresh water reservoir 10 can be removed. Because the fresh water reservoir 10 is located on the side disposed opposite the fixing plate of the technical module 8, removal of the fresh water reservoir 10 results in an exceptionally usable enlargement of the useful volume that is available for the storage of refrigerated items. Said useful volume can be increased in size still further if the ice tray 9 is removed in addition when the ice maker 7 is not being used. The special feature lies in the fact that with the ice tray 9 and fresh water reservoir 10 removed, the resulting increase in size of the useful volume forms a space that is contiguous with the refrigeration zone 4.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 Refrigeration appliance -   2 Door -   3 Interior space -   4 Refrigeration zone -   5 Freezer compartment -   6 Shelf -   7 Ice maker -   8 Technical module -   9 Ice tray -   10 Fresh water reservoir -   11 Switching contact -   12 Fixing eyelet -   13 Cuboid -   14 Left-hand guide rail -   15 Right-hand guide rail -   16 Groove -   17 Tray edge -   18 Top guide rail -   19 Bottom guide rail -   20 Lid 

1-9. (canceled)
 10. A refrigeration appliance comprising: a plurality of internal walls delimiting an interior space; and an ice maker, the ice maker being located in the interior space and having a removable ice tray, a central module, and a fresh water reservoir, the central module of the ice maker being mounted on an internal wall of the refrigeration appliance and the ice tray being removably connected to the central module, and the fresh water reservoir being removably coupled to the central module in a manner permitting transfer of fresh water from the fresh water reservoir into the central module.
 11. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein at least one of the ice tray and the fresh water reservoir is configured such that a respective unoccupied volume in the interior space of the refrigeration appliance that is results from a removal of the respective ice tray or fresh water reservoir is available as usable interior space of the refrigeration appliance.
 12. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the central module, the ice tray, and the fresh water reservoir are constructed and arranged in a block shape.
 13. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the ice tray and the fresh water reservoir are connected to the central module via guide rails.
 14. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the central module is mounted on the internal wall via an adapter plate.
 15. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 10 and further comprising at least one sensor for detecting the presence of at least one of the ice tray and the fresh water reservoir.
 16. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 15 and further comprising a switching contact operable to determine the presence or absence of at least one of the ice tray and the fresh water reservoir in its respective designated position relative to the central module.
 17. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 16, wherein the ice maker is put into operation only when at least one of the ice tray and the fresh water reservoir in its respective designated position
 18. The refrigeration appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the central module has at least one of an electrical interface and a refrigeration engineering interface that operatively interacts with a corresponding interface of the refrigeration appliance. 